COVID-19 and us — 3.24.20

As I type this COVID-19 cases number some 417,582 with 53,660 here in the US. Really, with some 7+ billion people in the world the numbers don’t seem large; when one considers the curve of new cases, both worldwide and in the US, it is frightening.

COVID-19 Graphics

The above links and others give graphic evidence as to the spread of the virus. Just use your search engine of choice (I like Duck Duck Go) and key in COVID-19 graphics.

Since my last post . . .

. . . not much has changed. Both medical and non-medical appointments have been re-scheduled for some time in April or left in limbo. My appointment with the cardiologist has become a video appointment. I’d added an hour to the time foe Di’s caregiver to be here on Wednesday so I could be at my appointment and a couple of hours later got a call from the cardiologist’s office. Would I be able to attend via phone or video (Zoom) on my computer? The scheduler was working from home. Video? Yeah, I could do that. So, tomorrow I’ll have a video medical appointment (my first) at somewhere near the same time the physical appointment had been scheduled.

I’m hoping two things. First, that, yes, I will not have to wait long and, second, that he’s already seen the CT scan’s results and that means I’m OK for the next few months. Fingers crossed.

Shopping

The supermarkets have quieted down. They are no longer crowded, at least at the times I go, and the shelves are mostly full. Paper products and cleaners seem to still be in short supply.

It looks like the idiots who panicked and have supplies of TP and wipes good for several years are out of money or space for storage. It should only take a week or two for suppliers to get shelves stocked again.

There is plenty of milk, fruit and salad fixings available.

Tomorrow, after the video meeting with the doctor, I’ll go shopping. Milk, salad, fruit, ice cream, frozen veggies, bread, cheese, creamer, potatoes, and kleenex are at the top of the list (and a roast chicken). I’ve got a Chewy order for the cats, including a new cat tree to replace the current torn up one, coming this week, hopefully.

A few days ago we drove along PCH into Long Beach (to get Di out of the house during one of her anxious periods) and parking lots of shopping centers were mostly empty. It reminded me of the days of my youth when stores were mostly closed on Sundays. The only lots with cars were those having grocery/drug type stores, restaurants set up for take-out and laundromats.

The beach

There didn’t seem to be too many people enjoying the beach, at least not as many as I usually see. There were few vehicles in the parking lots of the state and city beaches and the RV lots were mostly empty. The only place I saw a large number of people was Huntington Dog Beach and even there people didn’t seem to be in large groups . . . mostly.

There were too many people in the downtown/pier plaza/pier area for the city authorities and some of our self-appointed nannies so today the pier and pier plaza were closed and tomorrow the beach parking lots are going to be closed.

I’ve seen a lot of people out biking, walking, walking their dogs and families but not in large groups. Mostly, it’s singles, couples and parents with children and pets. Social distancing exercise.

For those of you who don’t believe in the efficacy of social distancing here is a graphic from the “Spanish Flu” of a century ago. It shows a comparison of the death rates of Philadelphia (which took few precautions) and St. Louis (which closed itself down). I believe the graphic is self-explanatory, but here’s the entire story:

PS: I don’t know about you but I think the number of cases of this virus are way off. I’ve never really believed the stats coming from China — do you? and from the United States? We can’t even get enough tests, much less actually test people. Oh, Well . . . muddle through time . . .